Barclays boss Antony Jenkins waives bonus

The chief executive of Barclays has waived his bonus for 2012 admitting it
would be “wrong” to be rewarded after a year of scandals - as the bank was
hit with more questions over Qatar’s investment in 2008.

Mr Jenkins, who was in line for a bonus of around £2.75m, said it would be wrong to take it.Photo: Reuters

Antony Jenkins, who took over from Bob Diamond in August, said it was “only right” that he took responsibility for the “multiple issues of our own making besetting the bank”.

In a statement Mr Jenkins, who was in line for a bonus of around £2.75m, said: “The year just past was clearly a very difficult one for Barclays and its stakeholders, with multiple issues of our own making besetting the bank. I think it only right that I bear an appropriate degree of accountability for those matters and I have concluded that it would be wrong for me to receive a bonus for 2012 given those circumstances.”

Mr Jenkins said he had decided to forgo his bonus “early this week” in the face of “considerable speculation about, and public interest in, the question of whether I will be awarded a bonus in respect of my performance in 2012”. He said he had announced the decision to “avoid further unnecessary public debate on this matter”.

There are currently no discussions to curb other parts of the bonus pool, the total size of which will be announced at the bank’s results on February 12.

Chris Lucas, finance director of Barclays, and Rich Ricci, head of corporate and investment banking, have already given up their 2012 bonuses. They waived them in the wake of the Libor settlement which triggered the resignation of Mr Diamond and then-chairman Marcus Agius.

Mr Jenkins’ announcement was over-shadowed by allegations that Barclays had lent Qatar money to fund its critical investment in the bank at the apex of the financial crisis.

The terms of the fundraising and the fees that were charged have been under investigation by the Financial Services Authority and the Serious Fraud Office since the summer. But fresh reports suggested that a potential loan by Barclays to Qatar may also be subject to scrutiny.

Providing financial assistance to a third party to invest in your own shares isillegal under the Companies Act 2006. Insiders said the bank’s lawyers were preparing to issue a statement on the allegations. However, by Friday afternoon, the bank said it would not expand on its earlier statement: “Both the FSA and SFO investigations are on-going, and as such we are unable to comment further.” A spokeman for Qatar also declined to comment.

Mr Jenkins move piles pressure on Antonio Horta Osorio, chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, as the last remaining leading British bank boss in line for a 2012 bonus.

Stuart Gulliver, chief executive of HSBC, has already forfeited part of his bonus in the wake of the $1.9bn settlement over US charges for money laundering on behalf of Mexican drug cartels. Stephen Hester, chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, announced in the summer he would take his 2012 bonus, which could have been £2.4m on top of his £1.2m salary, amid an IT glitch. Mr Hester has waived his bonus in three out of the four years he has been at the helm of the state-controlled bank.